The Wasp — 1878 — page 399: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains the beginning of a serialized story titled "Baby Mine: A Tale of American Journalism," featuring a character named Mr. Jasper Tumblebirk, described as a forty-three-year-old unmarried journalist. The narrative appears to be satirizing journalism and journalistic sensationalism of the era. The story involves Tumblebirk's encounter with a baby and various women, played for comedic effect. The text suggests the satire targets how newspapers and journalists of the period might exploit or sensationalize domestic stories and human-interest narratives. Without additional context about specific contemporary events or figures referenced, the precise political targets remain unclear, though the general critique of American journalism's methods is evident.